From Spain: Athletic Bilbao make Ander Herrera their main January transfer target

The Spaniard was voted the club’s best player in Jose Mourinho’s first season at the club but was reduced to only 13 Premier League starts over the 2017/18 campaign.

Herrera, who is free to speak to other clubs in January ahead of his contract expiring in June, joined Man United from Bilbao in 2014 having spent three impressive seasons with the Basque club.

And according to Spanish media outlet El Correo, a reliable source when it comes to Bilbao, the La Liga side have made Herrera their main priority ahead of the January window.

Bilbao will seek to convince Herrera to join them by emphasising his recent lack of opportunities under Mourinho. They made contact with the 29-year-old in the summer, insisting they were prepared to make him Bilbao’s highest earner, and will now follow that up in January.

Herrera, according to the report, feels his time at Old Trafford is approaching an end, but has never outright indicated he wants to leave. The report states that Mourinho doesn’t count on him but the 55-year-old’s frequent use of Herrera in big games suggests otherwise.